AIPA ‘Stick With It’

Send us Fan Mail This October marks National Safe Work Month, and this year's theme — Safe work is for life — is a fitting backdrop for our conversation. Work health and safety isn't only about preventing harm in the moment; it's about protecting a person's long-term health, wellbeing and future. Few careers illustrate that better than commercial aviation. In this episode, host...

Send us Fan Mail October is National Safe Work Month, and this year's theme — Safe work is for life — sits at the heart of this conversation. Work health and safety isn't only about the immediate hazard; it's about the long-term impact of work on a person's health, wellbeing and future. Few people have thought harder about that in an aviation context than our guest. Host Willia...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Fleer was a fit, healthy Qantas pilot when he collapsed in his backyard mid-workout and went into sudden cardiac arrest. He was clinically dead for 11 minutes. What kept him alive was a chain of near-impossible luck: his wife — an architect with zero medical training — started CPR she'd absorbed from watching Bondi Rescue, a neighbour who'd never done CPR leapt off...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we're joined by Captain Ali Al-Wahabi, a pilot and instructor with more than forty years of airline experience. Over a remarkable career, Ali has flown for five major airlines across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, thriving in the kind of multicultural environments that have shaped both his flying and his outlook on life. Ali graduated from Oxford Air Train...

Send us Fan Mail Special bonus episode, recorded live in the legendary 747 Captain Cook Lounge at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, QLD. When Qantas took delivery of its first 747s in the 1970s, the upper deck "bump" behind the cockpit wasn't just for the cockpit crew — it housed the Captain Cook Lounge: seating for 15 passengers, a stand-up bar, and décor that should have co...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with proud partners of AIPA, MGD Wealth, Nathan Huehne and Ian Fraser break down how lending strategy and wealth planning work together to build long-term financial success for airline pilots. Nathan unpacks the lending side: how banks actually assess pilot income (base, allowances, overtime), current credit conditions, smart debt structuring, and the...

Send us Fan Mail As wealth grows, the questions that matter most start to change. In this episode, Robbie Parkinson and Stephen Furness from MGD Wealth explore how high earning professionals and families can think more strategically about building, managing and protecting wealth over time — moving beyond short-term performance and individual investments toward thoughtful portfolio construction, di...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for an in-depth discussion with retired Captain Richard Woodward as he shares his pioneering work on pilot fatigue, the science behind it, and the development of fatigue risk management systems in aviation. Discover the history, challenges, and future of managing pilot fatigue effectively. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Pilot Fatigue and Research 01:17 Richard Woodward&apo...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It – Season 3! In our first episode of the new season, we kick things off by celebrating International Women in Aviation Week with two inspiring Qantas Group pilots: Captain Sarah Davidson, a Qantas 737 Captain, and Allegra Taylor, a Jetstar First Officer. They share their journeys into aviation, the challenges women pilots face, the importance of repres...

Send us Fan Mail For our final episode of the season, we’re joined by John Mullen , Chair of Qantas, and one of Australia’s most respected and globally experienced business leaders. With more than two decades spent leading major transport, logistics, and infrastructure companies around the world, John brings a rare mix of boardroom insight, historical perspective, and genuine curiosity to this con...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Brendyn Appleby, a seasoned strength and conditioning coach with over 25 years of experience in elite sport. Brendyn has worked with top organisations including the WA Institute of Sport, Western Force (Super Rugby), and the Australian Men’s Hockey Team across three Olympic Games (Rio, Tokyo, and Paris). Today, he serves as a Senior Lecturer in...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It . In this episode, we are joined by Captain John Cawood , a Check and Training Captain on the Boeing 787 with Jetstar. John’s aviation journey began in South Africa, where he flew with the South African Air Force before moving into commercial aviation with South African Airways. His career then took him to Emirates, where he gained experience flying l...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Andrew Taylor and Head of AIPA Legal - Matthew Warburton discuss the ongoing long haul negotiations and the in-principle agreement reached. They delve into the drafting process, the implications of unprotected actions, the voting process, and the potential consequences of a no vote. The discussion also covers the risks associated with industrial action, negot...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick with It. Today were joined here with Dr Jeremy Robertson, Qantas Flight Medical Officer and First Officer on A321.   Jeremy started out life as a pilot, completing the UNSW Bachelor of Aviation degree in 1998, then spending three years in GA instructing at Bankstown and charter/scenic flying in the Kimberley. He joined Qantas in 2001 as a B744 S/O and was pro...

Send us Fan Mail In this snippet, Capt. Andrew Taylor and AIPA Treasurer F/O Glen Hunter explore the intricacies of the Long Haul EA briefings and the negotiation process that resulted in the current agreement. CLICK HERE to watch the full episode. Fly safe and stick with it.

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It . In this episode, we are honoured to sit down with a true pioneer of Australian aviation, Captain Sharelle Quinn (RET). Sharelle’s story is one of determination, courage, and history-making achievements. Inspired at just eight years old by a Qantas stamp design competition where the prize was a flight in a Cessna 172. Despite the challenges women fac...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It. In this episode, we are joined by AIPA’s rostering and scheduling expert, Anthony Mangan. Anthony’s aviation career began with Qantas in 1996, where he gained experience across a range of operational roles before moving into the Integrated Operations Centre. There, he worked at the heart of airline logistics, managing the complex and ever-changing mo...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick with It! In this episode, we’re joined by Carolyn Vaughan, Principal Human Factors Specialist in Aviation Psychology and Human Factors. We explore the mental and emotional challenges pilots face throughout their training journeys, and how to better prepare for them from the very beginning. Carolyn shares why adopting a “novice mindset” can be so powerful, eve...

Send us Fan Mail 🎙 Stick With It – Inside the IOC: Real-Time Decisions, Real-World Pressure Welcome back to Stick With It . In this episode, we're going behind the scenes of Qantas operations with Captain Ben Holland, A330 pilot and Manager IOC, and Chris Mulholland, Manager IOC Operations, who brings over 47 years of experience to the table. We dive deep into the Integrated Operations Centre...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It ! In this powerful and exclusive episode, we’re joined by Capt Kevin Sullivan (Ret’d), whose aviation story is nothing short of extraordinary. Kevin began his career as a U.S. Navy pilot, flying the iconic F-14 Tomcat and training as part of the elite Top Gun program. After his military career, he made the transition to commercial aviation, joining Qa...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It ! In this episode, we're joined by Capt Andrew Stewart (Ret’d), a former Qantas 747 Captain who is now a psychotherapist working with the Pilot Assistance Network (PAN). After retiring from flying, Andrew retrained as a therapist at Oxford, specialising in supporting pilots with the unique mental challenges of aviation. We explore the psychologic...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Stick With It. Today, we’re joined by Captain Ryan Smith, a QantasLink Dash 8 Q400 Check and Training Captain with a rich background that started in general aviation through the UNSW program. In this episode, Ryan walks us through his journey from flight training and GA operations into an airline operation, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes...

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode of Stick With It, we’re honoured to be joined by former AIPA President, Captain Wayne Kearns (Ret'd). Captain Kearns reflects on the early days of AIPA, sharing firsthand stories from a defining era in aviation. From navigating industrial challenges to flying alongside World War II pilots, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the past through the eyes of s...

Send us Fan Mail We’re kicking the new season off with my good mate, AIPA President Captain Andrew Marshall. We talk through his career so far, unpack where things stand with Reduced Crew Operations (RCO), dive into the latest on enterprise bargaining, and look ahead to what the future may hold for our profession.  Timestamps:  00:00 – Introduction and welcome to season two   00:29 – Guest introdu...

Send us Fan Mail In this first installment, Andy and Pagey take us through the airborne phase of the QF520 incident. From the moment things went sideways to the decisions made at altitude, this is a raw and real look at crisis management in the skies.  Fly safe and stick with it.